The Whipping
by arigatoupeeta
Summary: Gale getting whipped from Peeta's pov
1. Chapter 1

**Gale getting whipped from Peeta's POV**

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE QUOTES. THEY BELONG TO SUZANNE COLLINS.

_**I'm going to start when Katniss and Peeta hear the sounds from the square and end when Katniss calls Peeta during the blizzard (which is about a chapter and a half long but I'm cutting some things out) **_

"What's that?" I say as I look towards the square. Katniss looks over to see what's going on.

"Come on" I say as my face turns hard. I know by the sounds that this can't be something good. We start to run towards the square. When we reach it, I can see a thick crowd. I step onto a crate against the wall of the sweetshop to get a better look. I start to scan the square while I offer Katniss a hand up. She's about halfway up when I see Gale getting whipped. I instantly know that I can't let Katniss see. She will just make things worse.

"Get down. Get out of here!" I whisper harshly.

"What?" Katniss says. She's trying to force her way back up.

"Go home, Katniss! I'll be there in a minute, I swear!" I say. She yanks her hand away and starts to push her way through the crowd. I can see people try to push her back and try to tell her to leave but it's no use. I jump down from the crate and try to catch up to Katniss. I try to scream her name, but she doesn't notice me. It's hard to catch up because the people are pushing me back as well. She has gotten past the crowd and can now see Gale. I push through the crowd and try to reach her before she does something stupid.

"No!" Katniss cries. She springs forward and throws herself between Gale and the whip. I see her get hit with the whip and fall to her knees in pain while barley managing to keep from tipping over.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Katniss shrieks. She reaches for an arrow, but of course she doesn't have any. I can see her grit her teeth in anticipation for the next lash.

"Hold it!" Haymitch barks. He pushes me out of the way and trips over Darius. He has passed out on the ground and I don't know why. But he does have a huge purple lump on his head. He ignores Darius and lifts up Katniss's chin to examine her cheek.

"Oh, excellent. She's got a photo shoot next week modeling wedding dresses. What am I supposed to tell her stylist?" Haymitch says. The man who whipped Gale recognizes Katniss and Haymitch. He rests the whip on his hip.

"She interrupted the punishment of a confessed criminal." The man says. Haymitch speaks up again.

"I don't care if she blew up the blasted Justice Building! Look at her cheek! Think that will be camera ready in a week?" He snarls.

"That's not my problem." The man says with a bit of doubt in his voice.

"No? Well, it's about to be my friend. The first call I make when I get home is to the Capitol, to find out who authorized you to mess up my victor's pretty little face!" Haymitch screams.

"He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyways?" the man says.

I walk up to Katniss and gently grab her other arm.

"He is her cousin." Haymitch says.

"And she's my fiancée. So if you want to get to him, expect to go through both of us." I say trying to help. A woman I don't recognize, but Katniss seems to, steps forward stiffly.

"I believe, for a first offense, the required number of lashes has been dispensed, sir. Unless your sentence is death, which we would carry out by firing squad." She says.

"Is that the standard protocol here?" the man asks.

"Yes, sir," the woman says. Others nod in agreement.

"Very well. Get your cousin out of here, then, girl. And if he comes to, remind him that the next time he poaches off the Capitols land, I'll assemble that firing squad personally." The man says as he wipes his hand along the whip. It splatters Katniss, Haymitch and I with blood. He makes it into a loop and walks off with the rest of the peacekeepers.

"Gale." Katniss says as she turns her head to face him. Her hands fumble around the knots that tie his wrists together. I turn around to see someone hand me a knife. I go and cut the ropes that tie him to the post. He collapses to the ground.

"Better go get your mother," Haymitch says to Katniss. The old woman that works at the clothing stall sells us the board that is her countertop.

"Just don't tell where you got it," She says. The square has mostly emptied out except for us and some people here to help us. We lay Gale face down on the board. Haymitch, some miners that work with Gale, and I lift him up and start our way to the Everdeen's house. Katniss stayed behind a bit to talk with one of her seam friend who I think is named Leevy. She grabs Gale's jacket and catches up with the rest of us.

"Get some snow on that," Haymitch orders Katniss over his shoulder. She can barely see so she just follows our footsteps. I want to help her, but I can't because I am helping carry Gale. While we are walking, the seam workers tell the story of how Gale was charged with poaching and how he was whipped. I'm not paying much attention because I'm too busy thinking about Katniss and if she will be okay. I should be thinking about Gale because he's much worse, but I can't help but worry about Katniss. I hear the last of the conversation and I start to wonder about Darius.

"What about Darius?" I ask.

"After about twenty lashes, he stepped in, saying that was enough. Only he didn't do it smart and official, like Purnia did. He grabbed Thread's arm and Thread hit him in the head with the butt of the whip. Nothing good waiting for him," says one of the coal miners_. Oh so that's what the lady and the new head peacekeepers name is_. I think to myself.

"Doesn't sound like much good for any of us," Haymitch says. A thick snow starts to fall making it harder to see. We arrive at the house and Mrs. Everdeen is waiting at the door, most likely because of Katniss's absence. She takes in the scene.

"New Head," Haymitch says while nodding a bit. We go to the kitchen table and set Gale down after a white cloth is spread across it. Mrs. Everdeen starts to go to work. I am amazed at how good she is at this healing stuff. She asks Prim to help with the herbs and medicines. I stay back and sit on the couch. Mrs. Everdeen asks Katniss if it cut her eye and she says no. She orders to put more snow on it and continues to work on Gale.

"Can you save him?" Katniss asks her mother. She doesn't reply.

"Don't worry," Haymitch says, "Used to be a lot of whipping before Cray. She's the one we took them to." Mrs. Everdeen continues to work on Gale's back. I stare at Katniss's cheek. _I could've protected her from that stupid whip._ I think to myself. Well, I can help her now. I get up and sit Katniss down in a chair. I take a cloth filled with fresh snow and hold it up to her cheek. It's the least I can do at the moment. Haymitch sends the miners home with some coins. Then Gale's mother, Hazelle, arrives. She is breathless but sits down in the stool next to Gale and takes his hand and holds it up to her lips. It's a couple of hours before Gale is mostly cleaned up. You can see where all of the whip lashes hit on his back. When the final bandages are placed on his back, he lets out a slight moan. Mrs. Everdeen goes and starts to look for pain-killers. They decide on some herbal concoction that is taken by mouth.

"That won't be enough," Katniss says. I stare at her along with everyone else.

"That won't be enough, I know how it feels. That will barely knock out a headache." She says.

"We'll combine it with sleep syrup, Katniss, and he'll manage it. The herbs are more for the inflammation—"Mrs. Everdeen starts to say calmly

"Just give him the medicine!" Katniss screams at her. "Give it to him! Who are you, anyways, to decide how much pain he can stand!" Gale starts to stir, which causes his wounds to bleed again.

"Take her out," Mrs. Everdeen says. Haymitch and I literally start to carry Katniss out of the room while she starts to scream at her mother. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but I have no choice. We pin her down to one of the beds in a spare bedroom of her house until she stops fighting us. While she lays there sobbing, I start to whisper to Haymitch about President Snow and the uprising in District 8.

"She wants us all to run," I whisper. Haymitch just gives us a look and doesn't reply. We walk back to the kitchen. Mrs. Everdeen goes into the room with Haymitch to treat Katniss's face. I stay in the kitchen. After a while, we hear the doorbell ring. I'm frozen with the fear that the peacekeepers are here to take us all away. Mrs. Everdeen opens the door with Haymitch and Katniss right behind her. It's not peacekeepers, but Madge with a box of some kind of medicine.

"Use these for your friend," Madge says "They're my mother's. She said I could take them. Use them, please." Madge runs away into the storm before they have a chance to respond. Haymitch mutters something but I can't hear it from here. Mrs. Everdeen takes a syringe with the clear liquid and shoots it into one of Gale's arms. He begins to relax.

"What is that stuff?" I ask

"It's from the Capitol. It's called morphling," Mrs. Everdeen answers.

"I didn't even know Madge knew Gale," I say wondering.

"We used to sell her strawberries," Katniss says almost angrily.

"She must have quite a taste for them," Haymitch says. Katniss starts to get uncomfortable at the words.

"She's my friend" is all Katniss says.

Gale is much better now so everyone seems to calm down. Hazelle is offered a room, but she has to go back to her other children. Haymitch and I both offer to stay, but Mrs. Everdeen sends us home. I get my jacket and start to head out of the door. I walk into the snow storm and to my house. I say goodnight to Haymitch and go inside of my house. All of my family is already sleeping, so I put my jacket and boots away and head silently upstairs to bed. All I can do is lie awake for hours thinking about everything that has happened today. Does Katniss have feelings for Gale? I mean, I know she does, but are they loving feelings? I don't know, but I plan on going to her house early in the morning to check up on her and to see if her cheek is alright. I plan on bringing cheese buns for everyone.

**Okay this is where I'm going to end the first chapter :) It's really long, but I think its okay. Let me know what you think and I will post chapter 2 in about half an hour :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay here is chapter 2 :) Let me know what you think! :D**

I wake up early the next morning as planned, and I go down and start to make cheese buns. I haven't slept much tonight but it is okay. Once the buns are done, I load a tray full and walk over to Katniss's house. I silently walk in and see Katniss has fallen asleep on the table next to Gale. I can see their fingers are locked together. I silently set the bread down on the counter and go to look at them. I can feel my face sadden as I realize that she has chosen Gale. She wants to stay here with him. I don't know exactly what happened last night, but I can tell it was something that made them realize their feelings for each other. I look at them with such a sad expression. My heart is broken by the only girl I have ever loved. I slightly shake Katniss's shoulder to wake her. She sits up with her hand still in his. She looks at me and notices how sad I am. I don't even bother trying to hide my feelings.

"Go on up to bed, Katniss. I'll look after him now," I say

"Peeta. About what I said yesterday, about running—"Katniss replies

"I know" I interrupt "There's nothing to explain." She looks at the bread on the counter, then to me. I can tell she feels guilty about hurting me.

"Peeta—"She starts to say

"Just go to bed, okay?" I say with a hint of anger in my voice. I don't need her trying to make me feel better when I know she doesn't mean it. She gets out of her seat and goes up to her bed. I can feel tears running down my face. I wipe them off when I hear someone coming down the stairs. It's Mrs. Everdeen.

"Good morning Mrs. Everdeen. I bought over some cheese buns for you and everyone else" I say in a happy voice. She can tell that I haven't slept because of the bags under my eyes.

"Thank you Peeta." She says "Here, I can take care of Gale from here. You go on home and rest. It looks like you need it"

"Thank you. And I will. Take good care of Gale and Katniss" I say as I leave the house. Once I'm outside and out of view from their eyes, I let the tears pour down my face. I decide to go and check on Haymitch. I walk into his house and the smell of liquor and filth fill the air. I find him at his kitchen table. He's dead drunk. I go to my house and grab a couple of loaves of bread. I go back to his house and set the loaves on his table. I also set a fire up before I leave. Once I'm inside my own house again I run up into my room and start to cry in my bed. All of the hurt feelings cause me so much sadness. I know Katniss loves Gale. She never loved me, she just pretended to. I get up and take a shower. Then I start to paint. It is the only way I can express my feelings. I can see that it has really started to snow now. Just then I hear the phone ring from downstairs. I go and answer it before the rest of my family can.

"Hello" I say

"Hey. I just wanted to make sure you got home," Katniss's voice sends a ping of sadness through me. Instead of sounding sad, I sound annoyed.

"Katniss, I live three houses away from you," I say

"I know, but with the weather and all," she says

"Well, I'm fine. Thank you for checking." I pause for a long time and think before I ask "How's Gale?"

"All right. My mother and Prim are giving him a snow coat now," She replies

"And your face?" I ask

"I've got some too," Katniss says. "Have you seen Haymitch today?"

"I checked in on him. Dead drunk. But I built up his fire and left him some bread," I reply

"I wanted to talk to – to both of you." Katniss says

I can take a hint and tell she doesn't want to say it over the phone because they are surely taped.

"Probably have to wait until after the weather calms down." I say "Nothing much will happen before that anyway."

"No, nothing much." She agrees. We say our goodbyes and that is the last time I talk to her before the storm blows over.

**Ok that's all of it :) This chapter is a bit shorter because I only wrote for half a chapter. Let me know what you think and what I could do better :D And I used A LOT of quotes from the book :s **

**tumblr: Katniss-raised-her-bow**


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